diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/dates.py b/lib/matplotlib/dates.py
index 45063b835886..65a7d249f45e 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/dates.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/dates.py
@@ -711,12 +711,13 @@ def set(self, **kwargs):
         self._rrule = rrule(**self._construct)
 
     def __getattr__(self, name):
-        if name in ['__getstate__', '__setstate__']:
-            return object.__getattr__(self, name)
         if name in self.__dict__:
             return self.__dict__[name]
         return getattr(self._rrule, name)
 
+    def __setstate__(self, state):
+        self.__dict__.update(state)
+
 
 class DateLocator(ticker.Locator):
     """